Dark Alley

Chapter 22

     "Happy birthday Foster," I hear Calvin say. Another greeting started the day in monotone, the same tone when he greets me the usual 'good morning Foster.' Its strange how Calvin remembers my birthday, well I have to accept the fact that he knows a lot about me more than I do. "Do you have a wish you want me to grant?"

     "Well maybe if you stop forcing me to go to school," I say, "I'd be so glad."

     "Not that type of with Foster," he says, "that's everybody's wish already. Try something original."

     That wish was sort of authentic for me since I ha e never wished before, but maybe that's everybody's wish, even if they live in an alley for years or not. I mean who would even like to spend half of their whole life in school?

     "Then there's nothing else I am going to wish for."

     "Good," he says as he flips his newspaper with his thumb and looks at it.

     "I want to ask if I can go out with Tracy," I say. I almost slipped rule number one, going out is a pretty intimate word. "I mean hang out with my friends, my friends are Tracy, Q and R - I hope you know."

     "Hang out, with Tracy Q and R?" He repeats.

     I nodded.

     "No."

     "Why?"

     "Because going out is an intimate word," he says, "I know those twins they don't hang out with people they just know. I wouldn't even let my daughter go out with them."

     "Why?"

     "Don't push it kid, bottom line is I don't want my daughter to hang out with anybody," he say. I hate him because he rejects me so calm; it's so easy for him to read his paper again without looking at me. "Make another wish."

     "Never mind," I tell him, "I think you're just messing up with me."

     "Well at least now I know you're gaining friends."

     At least I think they are. I don't want to tell Calvin about my thoughts about them, it makes me sick when he worries, because he has no business to take care of. Well at least to the point that I am his experiment.

     "Anyways, this Saturday I will be bringing you back to my lab. You need to have a weekly examine there with me," he says. Speaking of experiment.

     "Sure," I say with a nod then I walked in to sit next to him in the table.

    "Dig in birthday boy," he says pointing the loaf of bread on front of him. "We're going to have a long day."

    Later at school, Tracy and I met Q and R in the hall. "Happy birthday dude said." R smiles at me as he raises his hand in the air waiting for me to do something with it. "No high fives? Your house teacher didn't teach you that?" R's smile faded as he withdraws his hand and places it on his back. What does he does he want me to do with it?

     "How did you know it's my birthday?" I asked them, changing the subject. Did they know how old I am already? Did she tell them?

     "Don't get crept out," R said.

     "We talk a lot about you with Tracy," Q continued.

     "Just two days ago we asked stuffs about you!" R said.

     "Curiosity maybe?" Q added. I amazed by their ability to finish each other's sentences, I heard it's a normal twin's thing but hasn't been proven yet - until now.

     "How old are you dude?" Q asks. Oh no. But before either Tracy or I could fabricate a lie Q stops us with his finger on his lip telling us to sush. "Wait let us guess."

     "Sure," Tracy and I both said at the same time. I guess we also have that twin thing?

     "Seventeen?" Q asked.

"No," the two of us said again, at the same time.

     "Eighteen?" R asked this time.

"No," we both said it again.

     "Nineteen?" Q asked.

"No," I say.

"Yes," she says.

At the same time.

     The twins looked confused, both giving us their awkward look.

     "Foster, you're nineteen duh!" She tells me. "He's really getting old - silly cousin!" She said to the two.

     Q rolled his eyes then reaches for me to pat my back once, "well dude, you don't look nineteen to me. Take that as a compliment.

     "Thank you?" I say, in a tone of doubting.

     "Well this isn't the time to be sloppy, you don't have to make your first day of being a nineteen years old that special and magical but you have to make sure you have to get your first day as a nineteen year old dude worth living for," Tracy says to me while she's at my back leaning her chin to my shoulders then takes her head away back after. "And we'll help you with that."

     "You?" My question was for the twins. All they did was giving me their widest grin with their nod. I was happy, I was happy because they're also trying to befriend me and now I don't have to be afraid of not having one.